Scientist who have cared for the garden for 10 years say the Natural History
Museum is sending out the message that habitats are disposable

A row has broken out at the Natural History Museum between scientists and managers over plans to bulldoze an important wildlife garden to provide access to a new ‘Jurassic area’ which will house Dippy the Diplodocus.

Much of the garden which contains rare species of flowers and insects, some of which do not exist anywhere else in Britain, will be torn up to install a wide path to the new dinosaur zone.

Scientists, who have cared for the areas for 20 years, say the move sends out the message that ‘habitats are disposable’ which is completely at odds with the ethos of the museum.

“It will destroy everything that is in the path of the bulldozers,” one researcher told The Daily Telegraph.

“The habitats have all been carefully managed for 20 years and from my point of view it gives the impression that these habitats are disposable.

“It’s the sort of thing that you would expect from developers planning a new block of flats not the Natural History Museum.

“They claim to have had a consultation but they have ignored what everyone has said. Nobody wants this to happen. At a meeting about it in May there wasn’t a single positive comment from anyone on the staff.”

Photo: Natural History Museum

The museum is planning a multi-million pound revamp of its grounds in coming years and is planning to make Dippy the Diplodocus the star of the show in a new ‘Jurassic’ landscape. The dinosaur is moving from its position in Hintze Hall to be replaced with the skeleton of a huge diving blue whale.

The Wildlife Garden was established in the 1992 in the hope that it would allow Londoners to experience ‘the English countryside in the middle of the capital.’

But scientists at the museum say it is actually a ‘living gallery’ which complements exhibits and demonstrates ecosystems and biodiversity in action. The habitats include deciduous woodland, health and bog meadow, chalk grassland wetland ponds and a chalk stream.

The garden also acted as a type of ‘living ark’ for species that had been threatened by other planning schemes. Several woodland plants were rescued from a road-widening project in Northamptonshire.

It houses 2,600 species including the rare Jersey Tiger Moth and landhopper and several species that do not exist anywhere in the Britain including two micro moths and the beetle Rhyzobius Foresteri. There are also toads, frogs and bats.

Tensions are running so high that staff at the museum have involved their union, Prospect.

Photo: Natural History Museum

Prospect negotiator Mike Weiler said: “The Wildlife Garden was established by a team of scientists and ecologists 20 years ago, to illustrate the diversity of lowland habitat in the UK, many of which people – especially city dwellers – will never have seen.

“Many of the life scientists are still very much involved with the garden, which is managed by ecologists and a group of 30 dedicated volunteers.

“It can’t be replaced overnight. It has taken many years to build up the 2,600 species of plant and animal life that can now be found there and careful management and dedication is required to maintain each distinct habitat.”

The Museum says that in the long term it is planning a larger wildlife garden and that many species would be moved to new areas. They said they were consulting museum scientists so that habitats suffered as little disruption as possible.

Museum scientist, Dr Sandra Knapp, said: “I think that the new design is fantastic and is a very exciting opportunity for the Museum. In addition to vastly improving access to the building, it will be a more engaging introduction to the museum and its work.

“The new outdoor spaces will introduce our visitors to some of the reasons why biodiversity is so crucial for not only the planet but also for human well-being.”

The plans will go before Kensington and Chelsea’s planning board later this year.

The garden will be bulldozed to allow an access path to a new Jurassic area which will house Dippy Photo: ALAMY